Rotary board turners in the prior art do not incorporate a physical stop and are not necessarily driven. Conventional board turners do not provide for controlling the speed of the conveyor while rotating the board. Conventional board turners may also fail to turn boards in a conveyance system as the conveyance system is started and stopped.
Prior art board turners are not as suitable for controlling the speed of the conveyor and rotating the board while the board is being transferred in a conveyance system as is the board turner according to the present invention. The main problem with conventional board turners is the inability to control the speed of the conveyance system while reliably rotating the board. Another problem in the prior art is the inability to select individual boards to be turned as the conveyance system speed is changed. Another problem with existing turners is the need to change timing with various thickness, width and wane conditions of the boards.
In these respects, the powered rotary board turner according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of maintaining reliable board turning as conveyance system speed increases or decreases over a wide range of speeds and as product sizes vary.